Learning To Trust
by JanessaMoon
Summary: Harry's life isn't perfect, infact it's downright horrible.  But when Harry and one of his friends end up taking an unexpected trip, well... AU. Time Travel. Marauders. Begins at end of book 5. Rated M just to be safe.  NO SLASH!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Harry wandered the halls of Hogwarts lost in thought. He wasn't watching where he was going; his mind was too occupied with thoughts of Sirius.

Sirius, the man who would have given everything for Harry; the man who did give everything. Sirius had been his one chance of escape from the Dursleys, his one chance to get away from the hellhole that was his life. Harry remembered during his third year when Sirius had first offered to let Harry live with him. At the time Harry had been overjoyed, he might actually get away from his Uncles unpredictable wrath. He had for the first time been able to hope for a better future. The aftermath was devastating when Sirius was almost kissed and had to go on the run. And Harry had gone back to the Dursleys knowing what to expect.

The beatings seemed to get worse as he got older. His uncle was very abusive and he seemed to relish in Harry's pain. Forth year had been both a relief and a horror. Hogwarts had always been a haven for him, but that year it had been just like his home life. Even his friends had sensed Harry's mood that year, but they didn't understand; no one did.

Going to Grimmauld Place that summer had been nerve wracking. Harry had hardly had time to hide his scars before the Order had taken him. The entire time at Grimmauld Place Harry had been on edge, but luckily no one had noticed; they only saw The-boy-who-lived, the spoiled little brat who felt himself above doing chores. But then again that was one good thing about this lightning shaped scar, everyone was always looking at it and failed to notice the scars elsewhere. Even his friends constantly looked at it. Harry knew it was unconsciously and that they did care about him, but he would not could not burden them with this.

Fifth year had been a relief surprisingly. Umbridge had actually been a relief, and he sometimes felt that he deserved the 'lines' that he had done for detention.

Harry had wandered so far through the castle that when he rammed into a wall and looked around he was completely lost. Paying attention now, Harry walked slowly through the hall, looking for a familiar landmark so he could guide himself. He cursed himself silently for not paying attention, he had learned many painful lessons about not paying attention and yet he still had allowed himself to be an easy target.

Turning a corner, Harry found himself staring at a tall ornate mirror. His gaze was drawn by the strange symbols that framed the glass and found to his surprise that he could understand them. _I show not a reflection of who others see, but who you are inside. Now that you see yourself clearly, let others see you as well._ Uneasiness had built up in Harry as he read this and as he read the last word he found himself unable to keep from looking at the reflection before him. The image in the mirror surprised Harry.

He saw himself, only it wasn't. The boy's hair was black, but it was not alone. The midnight black hair was now mixed through with dark red strands that brought a whole new look to it. The reflection's hair was also longer and almost touched his shoulders. The glasses that Harry was known for were not a part of the reflection. Instead, clear green eyes looked back at him. But even the green had changed; instead of the bright chips of jewels that they had been, the boy had dark haunting green eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. Harry finally looked beyond the face and gasped in shock. The body of the boy was littered in scars. Harry recognised all of them; it was what he looked like without his glamours on. And as Harry stared at the unrecognisable boy before him a bright light surrounded him and in a flash Harry had changed. It wasn't that Harry saw what had changed, the image in the mirror was the same, but Harry had felt the change. He felt…right. For the first time in his life he felt right. Harry didn't need to look in a real mirror to know that he looked just like the image in the glass before him.

"Harry. Harry!" he heard Hermione and Ron calling him. Harry wordlessly and wandlessly called upon the glamour's that had become second nature to him. He followed the voices and when he caught sight of his best friends, he exclaimed in apparent relief, "There you guys are. I thought I was going to miss the train unless you guys found me." Hermione smiled at him as Ron grabbed his arm and started to pull him along, "We are still going to be late if we don't hurry."

The three got on the train and found a compartment with Neville, Luna and Ginny. The six laughed and talked all the way to London, Harry was savouring the last few hours of happiness before the summer. He knew that Hermione and Ron were worried about the fact that Harry wasn't mourning Sirius, but Harry knew that there would be time for mourning later.

The train pulled up to the station. Neville, Luna and Ginny left and Harry sat trying to enjoy his last few minutes of freedom. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the concerned faces of Ron and Hermione. "Are you alright Harry?" Ron asked as Hermione sat beside Harry. Their concern touched Harry but he knew he could never tell them the truth. "I'm fine," he said smiling faintly, "I'm just going to miss the two of you." Hermione reached over and wrapped her arms around Harry, "We'll miss you too. Keep in touch will you, Mate. Let us know how the muggles are treating you, ok?" Harry nodded and then stood up.

The three exited the train and saw their families waiting for them. With another hug the trio separated and Harry followed his uncle, dread welling up inside of him.

**AN. Ok guys so this is my first ever fic so please tell me what you think. I can take and I do appreciate critisism, as long as it is constructive critism. I am planning on continuing this story but I kinda want to see some responses. But then again, I don't write just to please others so I will probably still update even if I don't get reviews. I will try to be conistant with updates, but I go to college in two weeks so I might get a bit side tracked. Anyways, thanks for reading 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**AN. Hey guys thank you so much to everyone who added me to their alerts and favorites, it means so much to me! Also a special thank you to yukikiralacus for sending me my first review!  
><strong>**Also a warning, there is abuse in this chapter, and it is not nice at all. For those who was wondering about the M rating, this chapter is why. I'm not sure if I rated it right but I'd rather be safe than sorry.**

Harry knew something was wrong from the moment he had laid his eyes on his uncle. For the first time in his memory Uncle Vernon had come alone to pick him up. He had never done that, Uncle Vernon seemed to think that Harry's 'freakiness' was contagious and refused to be alone with the boy.

The uneasiness in Harry grew as he entered No. 4 Privet Drive and found that Aunt Petunia and Dudley were nowhere to be found. He turned to get his trunk and found himself face to face with his uncle.

Harry backed off quickly but Uncle Vernon grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him up the stairs. He was thrown roughly to the ground in his room and Uncle Vernon walked out into the hall and opened a closet door. Dread overflowed inside of Harry as his Uncle returned with his assortment of 'toys'. Slamming the door shut Uncle Vernon laid out his weapons on the bed and picked out a whip.

Harry had no time to shelter himself as the blows rained down. "You freak! Did you think you were funny with that little letter you left? And the fake lawn contest? You are nothing but a good for nothing nobody! No wonder you don't have any parents, they were probably happy to die just to get away from you!" Harry whimpered but refused to cry out in pain. After a while the pain blurred together, but soon the blows paused. Harry lay flat out on the ground as his uncle surveyed him. Then a leer crossed the twisted face of the monster that was Vernon Dursley.

Perusing over his array of weapons, Vernon chose a short but sharp knife and with a wicked gleam in his eyes he plunged it down into Harry's back. Harry screamed; he screamed a loud frantic cry that he knew no one would answer. Vernon dragged the knife through Harry's back and carved a deep 'V' that stretched the length of his torso.

Harry continued to scream in pain and hopelessness as his uncle took the knife and cut through Harry's jeans and underwear. Vernon tore them away and began to undo his own pants. Then all Harry could feel was pain; pain inside and outside. Harry desperately wanted to pass out but his body was resisting. He was too used to the pain, too used to having to fight through it and escape. "Mine! You are mine! There's no escaping freak, for the rest of your life you are going to be my little fuck toy!" Harry felt disgust for himself well up inside, and he screwed his eyes tightly shut. "You slut look at yourself, you're probably enjoying it too! Nobody cares about you, you freak; NOBODY!"

It was a long while before the torment ended. Again and again Vernon pounded into his nephew, aroused continually by the sheer exhilarating power and by the pain he was causing. Many hours later Vernon Dursley left the room extremely satisfied and whistling to himself. Harry lay on the floor only half conscious and finally, mercifully Harry fell unconscious.

Later that night, had anyone been listening, a crack would sound and Mundungus Fletcher would appeared out of thin air. He would look around and then sighed in relief that nothing had gone wrong in his absence.

**AN. I know its short but I promise to update again tomorrow. Probably tomorrow or the day after. I still love reviews though, so please review!  
>~JanessaMoon<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Just realized that I uploaded my unedited version of the chapter. It's almost exactly the same with only a few minor changes.  
>AN. Ok guys this chapter has more abuse but it ends here. As far as I know, I'm not going to add anymore abuse. There will be bullying in further chapters, but I'm not sure how extreme yet.<strong>

Time passed and it seemed that Vernon had decided to leave Harry alone. He still beat Harry, of course, but Vernon never approached Harry the way he had that night. Harry continued to do all of the chores around the house without saying a word. His Aunt Petunia ignored him except to give him more chores to do. However, every so often, Harry caught Dudley watching him. Instead of unnerving Harry, this reassured him that someone at least noticed. On Harry's back the carved V was just beginning to slowly heal, but Harry knew that it was going to scar.

But the uneasy peace was not to last. It was the day of Harry's birthday, Aunt Petunia had gone out for the day to a lawn party and Dudley was out in the neighbourhood with his friends. Harry had just finished mowing the lawn and had come inside to check what was next on the list. He was preoccupied and didn't notice when he slammed straight into his uncle. "BOY!" Uncle Vernon yelled and grabbing Harry he dragged him upstairs where Harry once again felt his wrath. Vernon took great pleasure in taking a knife and very slowly dragging said knife through the same path he had carved before, reopening the half healed V on Harry's back. He rained blows on Harry as he repeated the same mantra that he did every night, "Freak!" "Whore!" "Slut!" "Fuck toy!" "FREAK!" The abuse and rape continued and Harry was helpless.

Harry could not pass out. Nothing he would do worked. He tried holding his breath, he tried banging his head on the floor, but to no avail. The boy was awake for the whole ordeal and was half conscious as he heard his uncle whisper in his ear, "You deserve this." Then hurried footsteps run up the stairs and the door was thrown open. "Harry!" he heard someone yell as he drifted into oblivion

Harry could hear voices. They were just a whisper in the background and Harry struggled to focus so he could hear. For some reason his brain couldn't focus enough so he could figure out who was speaking. They were vaguely familiar but his brain refused to concentrate as snatches came at him. "…came home from a friend's house and found my dad…..it was horrible…" "It's ok Dudley, you did the right thing…he's safe now." The voices faded out.

Harry was swimming, which in its self was weird because he didn't know how to swim. He looked for a way out but he couldn't see anything. He searched the water around him, but unable to find the surface, Harry started to panic. Then he heard a voice, a familiar voice. "It's ok Harry, calm down…" Harry followed the voice and then suddenly he found the surface.

It was disconcerting. One minute Harry had been in the black abyss of water and the next bright sunlight shone on him, blinding him momentarily. After a moment he realized that he was sitting in a soft bed. He felt someone lay a hand on his back and Harry flinched violently. The hand remained softly on his back as he turned and gazed into the face of Remus Lupin. Harry gave a strangled cry and then buried his head into Remus' shoulder. All of Harry's pain and hurt finally broke out of its restraints and came out in the form of tears. Remus held Harry and rocked back and forth as the boy he regarded as a son broke down in his arms.

It was almost an hour later that Remus gently loosened the grip that Harry had on his person and lowered the sleeping boy to the bed. The boy stirred in his sleep and a deep wished formed in his heart. Harry James Potter, the boy-who-lived, wished for a chance to understand what love really was. And with a flash, said boy disappeared.

**AN. Thanks to yukikiralacus for the review. I know this one is short, again, but I do have a method to my madness. I am trying to focus on certian things each chapter and I don't want to lose certain situations in the midst of chapters. But I will try to get them longer, I promise  
>~JanessaMoon<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**AN. I am SO sorry for not updating faster. I just moved into college today for my first year so its been rather hectic. So to celebrate I thought I would actually remember to post this :-D**

**NO SLASH!**

Harry woke in a white room. He stood up in wonderment and looked for a door. Suddenly a voice came out of nowhere. "Harry Potter, you have wished for a chance to understand love. Here is your chance. Tell them as little or as much as you want, for once you leave they will not truly remember you until you return to your time." _Time?_ Harry had no time to ask further questions as suddenly the room disappeared and the feeling of falling over took him.

Harry landed with a bump and surprisingly bounced. While in the air, he twisted so that he would land on his feet. "What do you mean? Time?" he screamed at the ceiling. At the clearing of a throat Harry looked around at his surroundings. He was very surprised when he laid his eyes on the staff table. He was at Hogwarts? Glancing down at his body he realized that the glamour had lifted and everyone could see his new appearance. Harry turned and searched the room and when he laid eyes on the Gryffindor table he paled immediately and swaying slightly on his feet. There sitting at the table, about halfway down, were five very familiar faces. _Shit!_ Was Harry's only thought as he turned his back on the school. It took all of Harry's self-control to not have a panic attack right then and there. Instead he focused on Dumbledore. "Um…Professor Dumbledore…..Sorry that my portkey was late, I forgot about the time difference from….Canada, ya um Canada." Harry stared pleadingly at the professor and was relieved at the slight nod that he received. Dumbledore stood and spoke to the students, telling them that he would return before the meal was over, but some things needed to be sorted out first. Then Harry followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall.

Harry James Potter was afraid, and he wasn't scared to admit it. As soon as he and Professor Dumbledore had entered the Headmaster's office, Harry had been bound to a chair with Professor Dumbledore towering over him. All that Harry could do was cower as the Professor fired question after question at him. "I'm sorry, Sir. But I can't tell you!" Harry finally blurted out and then cowered again. Albus Dumbledore froze. He recognized the signs that this young man was exhibiting and was not happy about it. He took a couple steps back immediately and studied the boy. "Can you tell me your name at least?" Albus asked softly. Harry slowly raised his head but refused to meet the old man's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly there was a flash of light and the sound of a body hitting the floor. "Ow!" Harry immediately sat straight up and stared. There in front of him was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Tal?" Harry exclaimed. Draco turned around and the look of confusion on his face quickly turned to a smile. "Shadow! Why are we at Hogwarts? How has your summer been? Your family treating you alright? Man I've missed you!" Draco watched as Harry's small smile fell into an impassive look. Draco's smile fell then too and he knelt down next to Harry. "Oh Harry, what did he do to you." Harry dropped his gaze but Draco reached over and gently lifted his chin. Despite how gentle he was Harry flinched away, but Draco didn't move his hand. Harry looked Draco in the eye and saw the sorrow in his eyes. Harry began to shake, and then Draco moved and pulled Harry into a hug. Harry shook as tears poured down his face, "He hurt me." Harry whispered softly, "He hurt me so bad."

Dumbledore watched as the blonde young man held the dark-haired one. He watched and he felt rage rise in him. He could see the pain and hurt in the eyes of the boy and it made him angry. How could anyone ever do something to hurt this brave young man in-front of him?

What seemed like hours later, Harry finally sat up. He wiped his eyes roughly with his hand and looked expectantly at the headmaster. Dumbledore smiled ever so softly and spoke gently to the boy, "You don't need to tell me who you are, or where you are from. But I need a name at least, and one for this young man as well." Dumbledore gestured to Draco. Harry swallowed silently, "My name is Harry…" a mischievous looked crossed his face as he continued, "…and that git there is my best friend Draco." Draco swatted Harry's arm and then to the surprise of the headmaster he pounced on the dark one. "Tal! Stop it!" Harry shrieked as the blonde tickled him. "Why Shadow, I never knew you were ticklish!" The two men continued to wrestle on the floor and Dumbledore looked rather fondly at the boys. He knew it was rather absurd for him to trust the two without enquiring further, but something told him that the two were trustworthy, no matter what mysteries they held. The two eventually sat up and Dumbledore smiled, "Well if you two are finished then we can go to the Great Hall and you can be sorted. However, I need names to introduce you with." Draco looked at Harry questioningly and raised his eyebrow at Harry's answer, "Today's date is September 1, 1976." Draco looked at Dumbledore hesitantly, "We can't go by our actual names, we kind of accidently got sent back in time." Dumbledore looked between the two, eyebrows raised. "Hmmm, I see. Well, as long as you don't change the time line I think we will be ok." Draco smiled at Harry then addressed Dumbledore, "Introduce us as brothers, Aidan and Aries Shade." Dumbledore smiled approvingly and then gestured for the two to follow him.

**AN. So here it is guys, sorry again that it took so long. I didn't really take alot of time to look it over, I just posted it quickly after glancing over it so if anythng is wrong let me know so I can fix it.  
>~JanessaMoon<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**AN. I know, I know. It has bee along time but it has been so hectic and well university is alot busier than I thought. Good news, I made the chorus choir so I'm super stoked for that. Bad news, that means even less time to write. But I promise I'm not giving up on this story; I'm not planning to anyways, but then again who ever plans to give up a story like, "Oh I know, I'll write five chapters of a story and then just to piss off everyone stop writing it!"...And I'm rambling, sorry! But beyond that, enjoy the chapter!**

Dumbledore turned to walk out but stopped when he realized neither boy was following. He turned and saw the dark-haired one, Aidan (Harry) frozen in his spot frozen in fear. He watched as the blonde, Aries (Draco) put a hand on Aidan's shoulder. Aidan flinched away violently and then sank to the floor, a blank look on his face. Aries began to panic then, "Shadow! Shadow can you hear me!" But the dark boy only stared blankly ahead lost in his head.

Harry had frozen stock still when Draco had given names for them, "Introduce us as brothers, Aidan and Aries Shade." He had felt a warm rush of gratitude rush over him at the words, and then cold panic had set in as his uncle's word rang in his head. _FREAK! No one wants you!_ Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and freaked out. _No, no Uncle Vernon! I promise to be good, I promise!_ Harry begged the imaginary spector in front of him. He begged quietly, just as he always did when his uncle was beating him. "Please" he whispered out finally.

Then, distantly, he could hear something. "….mmhmmmm…" Harry struggled to calm down enough to understand. "Shadow, come on. Please calm down." He recognized Tal's voice and slowly he came back to reality. Draco was holding him rocking him gently back and forth. "Shadow, what's wrong?" Harry struggled to find his voice and when he did his words came out in a soft croaking whisper, "Nobody wants me; I'm a freak. I don't deserve it." Draco softly stroked his hair. "You are not a freak. You are somebody so special, Harry. You're my brother, I want you." Draco held Harry and slowly calmed him down as he had done various times before.

Harry felt himself calming but didn't pull away from Draco; he relished the feeling of being loved. Draco was the only one that Harry felt safe with. It had started in first year. After a rather choppy start, Harry had been rather reluctant to trust him; but when Draco had seen the marks from the beatings he had confronted Harry. For an eleven-year old Draco had been strangely knowledgeable about abuse and after much coaxing Harry had told him all about his uncle. It had been Draco that had patched him up every year after the school year started. This all happened in secret of course; how many people would be happy with the saviour of the world being best friends with the son of a Deatheater? And Harry refused to give up on Draco. Draco was the only one that Harry truly trusted. Even after a beating when Harry refused to let anyone near him, Draco could come and horse around without Harry reacting. It was a trust so deep it ran deeper than blood. And even though they were not in the slightest related, Harry and Draco were brothers.

Dumbledore watched the two silently. He felt terribly angry about what had been done to the boy, but pride and happiness washed over him at the sight of the two boys together. They completed each other. He knew that the two were not actually brothers, not by blood at least; but something deeper connected them and it filled him with tremendous amounts of joy.

Slowly Harry pulled away from Draco and the two stood up. Harry looked rather embarrassingly at Dumbledore but the old man merely smiled and nodded softly to him. "Come on then Mr.'s Shade, let us go introduce you to the school." The two followed Dumbledore down to the Great Hall and through to the feast. Harry felt the eyes of the entire school on him as they entered. He determinedly looked straight ahead refusing to even glance at the tables next to him; tables that carried too many familiar faces. Draco leaned close to him and softly whispered, "Don't worry, it will be fine. They don't know who you are. There are no expectations, no 'boy-who-lived' here." Feeling braver but still refusing to look around, Harry followed Draco to the front of the hall. Professor McGonagall, after receiving a look from the Headmaster, read off of the parchment received from said Headmaster, "Shade, Aidan." Harry didn't move; he couldn't. Every single eye in the hall was trained on him, but he was lost in a flashback.

"_Potter, Harry." "Potter, Harry!" As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. "Potter, did she say." The Harry Potter." The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. "Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you." Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. "Not Slytherin, eh." said the small voice. "Are you sure. You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that - no. Well, if you're sure - better be GRYFFINDOR!"_

Snickers were heard as Harry came back to reality. Draco glanced at Harry for a moment then turned to McGonagall, "I'll go first, Aidan is a bit nervous." With an uncertain look to Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall read of the parchment again, "Shade, Aries." Draco stood and stepped up to the stool. Placing the Sorting Hat on his head, Draco set an impassive look on his face and waited. Harry watched in fascination as Draco sat impassively for over a minute, but he knew that Draco was arguing hard with the hat, and when a smile broke out on Draco's face Harry knew that Draco had gotten what he had wanted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Draco stepped down from the stool and rather than going to sit with his new house, he stood beside Harry.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and said once again, "Shade, Aidan." This time Harry swallowed deeply then with one last sorrowful glance at Draco, Harry stepped up. Harry could see Draco's confused face but ignored it in favour of putting the hat on.

"So Aidan Shade, or should I say Harry Potter." 'No, I'm Aidan Shade.' "Very smart dear boy, an excellent way to avoid your father's rather amazing map. But onto business now, which house should you go to? Ravenclaw? I see a deep buried intellect hidden inside you; but no, they would pry too much. Hufflepuff? Hmmm, I think not. You are trusting, but only of certain people. With your past you would rip them to shreds. Gryffindor? Strange, even you do not hold out much hope for your old house. Ah I see, you keep much secret and they would not truly understand, I think. Now I've got it, you are too afraid to face your family; yes, not much of a Gryffindor. Slytherin? You are cunning, yes. Not many would suspect your deep friendship with the supposed enemy. And you are very private, a very important lesson to learn for the snakes of this time. Yet you do not have much self-preservation. You are an enigma, Aidan Shade. You fit into every house, yet at the same time none of them. Well then, I'll just have to do enny-meeny-minney –mo." Harry waited patiently for the hat to finish its rather bizarre way of sorting. "enny-meeny-minney-mo! Ah so it is to be…..SLYTHERIN!"

**AN. By the way, Draco will be refered to as Aries whenever I switch points of view to a past character, just as Harry will be refered to as Aidan. Draco will also be sometimes refered to as Tal, and Harry as Shadow. Have a good week 3  
>~JanessaMoon<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**AN. Ok I am SOOOOOOOO sorry! I have absolutely no excuse for my lack of updating except that I completely forgot that I didn't have anymore completed chapters. Updates might be slow coming up because I have no more prewritten ones. Anyways here is the chapter, I think this is my longest chapter yet. I'm sorry if there is some grammer issues. If you see any, send me a message so I can fix it! Enjoy :-D**

Draco's eyebrows shot up at the Sorting Hat's pronouncement. The sad smile on Harry's face made sense now, but then Draco did something that surprised the entire hall; he started to laugh. Harry stared at him, as did the rest of the hall. "Slytherin, haha. That is the funniest thing I've ever heard." Draco then froze; he couldn't believe he had just said that out loud. The Gryffindors looked rather delighted, but the Slytherins were looking rather menacing. Even the professors were looking at him strangely. "No, I didn't mean-uh…what I meant was…Aidan!" The entire hall turned to look at Harry who was sitting rather passively on the stool. And passively he was; he wasn't even paying attention to the conversation. Then suddenly he toppled off of the stool and to the floor. The entire hall burst into laughter. Draco hurried to Harry's side and pulled him close. The teachers too came over. The first ones to stop laughing were the Hufflepuffs; then the Ravenclaws. The Slytherins too stopped and soon it was only the Gryffindors guffawing at the fallen boy.

Harry came-to slowly. He could hear loud laughter all around him and shook his head slightly. "What happened?" he asked sitting up. Everyone exchanged glances as Draco pulled Harry to his feet. "Well, my brother. You are officially the first one to faint while being sorted."

Classes were interesting to say the least. It felt weird for both Harry and Draco to be in the positions that they were in. Draco had never truly understood what it was like to have friends who watched your back at every moment. There were certain individuals who Draco was rather surprised with; these being James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. The trio had immediately taken a liking to Draco, and were well on their way to accepting him as part of their group. Draco found it easy to rely on them, as well as the other Gryffindors, for whatever problems occurred. Harry learned the true bliss of being able to have a private life. He could leave whenever he had nightmares and he didn't have to worry about the other Slytherins badgering him in the morning. Severus Snape was a surprise as well. The greasy-haired man who ruled the dungeons in Harry's time was not yet in existence. This Severus was still unsure of himself and was not yet greasy haired. Harry trusted Severus, at least to a certain extent. Harry found the fact that he looked nothing like his father rather enjoyable. It was easier to go on with live when others weren't constantly comparing him to his father. Draco, too, had undergone a change. Before the two had gone to be sorted, Draco had used a mild, complicated, permanent transfiguration spell to alter his features. His ice blue eyes had been darkened to a stormy grey almost silvery color. But Draco had been rather reluctant to let go of the feature he had received from his mother and had added streaks in the same blue to his bleach blond hair, in the same manner as Harry's. The two were truly a sight to see now.

Harry walked through the halls the one day, head down, contemplating while gazing at the stones below him. He was so preoccupied that he failed to notice himself walking straight into one of the people he had been striving to avoid. Harry and the boy ended up in a heap on the floor with books strewn all around them. Harry quickly pushed himself up to his knees and began to gather the books into stacks again. Silently he handed one of the stacks to the boy on the floor and then putting his own books back into his bag he stood up and turned to go. "Wait!" A voice called. Harry froze as the boy approached him. "I'm Remus Lupin; I don't believe we've met?" Harry stared at the hand that Remus held out for him and then hesitantly shook it, "I'm Aidan, Aidan Shade." Remus smiled, "Your brother is in our dorm I believe, Aries right?" "Yah, he's my brother." Harry spoke softly. Remus and Harry stood awkwardly, each waiting for the other to speak. Finally Harry turned and began to leave once again. It was about thirty seconds before he heard Remus coming up behind him again. Harry cursed in his head as Remus took up a place beside him as they walked to the Great Hall. Neither said a word, they just walked, neither sure of what to say. When the two turned the corner of the corridor they were met by a rather unpleasant scene. Sirius Black and James Potter were faced off against Severus Snape right in the middle of the hallway, while a crowd of students just stood and watched. Harry immediately leapt into action. He hurried over and pushed his way through the crowd until he was at the front. "Well you greasy-haired git, what have you got to say for yourself? Oh wait, there is no excuse. Your mother probably went out and got fucked by the first guy who would have her." Harry watched as Severus turned beat-red, "You have nothing to say, you bloody mudblood lover. Bet your mom tried to drown you at birth when she saw you, she was so disgusted by you…." Harry intervened before anymore words could be spoken, "Accio wands." Three wands soared into his outstretched hands, and all three owners turned to face him. Harry didn't say anything; he just stood with eyebrows raised. Severus scowled and picking up his bag, walked up to Harry with his hand open. Harry carefully placed the wand into the boy's outstretched hand and then watched as the boy stocked away. James and Sirius looked at him, grins splitting their faces, "That was awesome!" They said in unison, "But next time, take only his wand so we can hex him." Harry glared at them, "Not. Funny." He ground out softly but firmly, "Not. Again." Then he dropped the two wands onto the stones and silently continued on his way.

Sirius stared in disbelieve after the boy. How dare he even try to stand up for Snivellus! The greasy-git deserved everything that he got. With a quick glance at James, and seeing the same rage, he ran after the kid. "Hey, Shade!" Aidan paused, but then continued. James and Sirius exchanged quick glances then James yelled after him, "Shade, you coward. Come and face us, don't make us hurt you." Aidan froze then and then slowly turned around. Sirius smirked, expecting to see rage written all over the boy face; instead Aidan kept a carefully neutral face. "Accio wand." Aidan's wand flew into Sirius' waiting hand. James and Sirius approached Aidan, and Sirius shoved the boy onto the floor. "So you think you can tell us what to do? Hmmm, well we're just going to have to teach you not to mess with us; you're nothing but a slimy Slytherin, and we are going to teach you where your place in this school is." The kid started to slowly shuffle himself backwards until he was up against the wall. James squatted down next to the boy and patted Aidan's knee, "It's better you learn now, then you won't make any more mistakes." Then Sirius' foot swung forward and caught him in the gut.

Harry coughed and slowly pulled himself to his feet. He leant against the wall and tried to orient himself. He knew that he had been laying there for a while. Even after James and Sirius had left, Harry had not moved. He knew too well that sometimes it was better to play dead until it was ok. Harry slowly took a couple steps and then stopped as a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Putting a hand onto his ribs he pushed gently and winced at the pain. Probably a few fractured ribs, but nothing too major. Slowly Harry hobbled down to the Great Hall. It took a great amount of effort for him to push open the door, and when he slowly walked down the aisle to go to sit at the Slytherin table he felt every eye in the hall on him. His eyes fell on Draco and saw Draco staring at him in shock. Harry smiled grimly and then sat down. But as he sat, he let out an unintentional moan. Draco was immediately at his side. "Ok Shadow, just lean back slightly on me." Glancing around he turned to Severus, "Could you help me get him to Madame Pomfrey."

Severus put a hand on Aidan's thigh, but released it immediately when Aidan flinched violently away from him. Severus stared in shock as Aidan opened his eyes and shot straight up, obviously ignoring the pain for the moment. Eyes glazed with pain bore into him as a raspy voice whispered. "Help me please. Tal, help me!" Then Aidan collapsed on the ground.

**AN. Ooh exciting! Haha...PLEASE REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**AN. Ok guys I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO incredibly sorry! I've been so busy with midterms and to be honest with you, even when I had the time I didn't really feel motivated to work on it. Anyways, I should let you know that this story isn't going to end how I originally thought it was going to. I haven't really been motivated to write this lately but I don't want to leave the story unfinished. So with a few motifications and alot of shortening of the plot I've come up with this chapter. Please let me know what you think! This is going to be the second last chapter in this story so please, please, please let me know what you think :-)**

A week later found Harry sitting in the very hallway where his father and godfather had beaten him up. He stared at a spot on the wall, unblinking, as the memories of the past few days ran through his head.

"_Harry, tell me what's going on!" Draco practically begged. But Harry stubbornly stayed silent. A part of his mind screaming silently at Draco, that he didn't tell because Draco wouldn't understand; but Harry knew deep down that it was two very different things that kept him from telling. The deep rooted one pounded in by his uncle. "Never tell anyone!" That was the first rule of abuse, it stayed at the home. Despite how much he trusted Draco, this was one thing he couldn't tell him. And the reason he couldn't tell was actually the second reason. Sirius and James had hurt him. Yes they had beaten him up, but their actions and lack of concern caused him to compare them to his uncle. The way that they practically laughed as they did it had brought up the image of Vernon. No, he couldn't tell Draco…_

The sound of footsteps roused Harry and he quickly glanced up, bracing himself to run. When he saw who it was, Harry pulled himself fully upright and glanced fearfully over his shoulder. "Shade, listen—" Sirius began hesitantly, but Harry didn't stay to hear what he said. He turned around and bolted away. "Shade, wait!" Sirius began to chase after him. Harry was very glad in that moment for his speed as he jumped sets of stairs and continued to run headlong. He could hear Sirius chasing after him still, swearing all the while, "Damn it, Shade! Slow down!" But Harry didn't slow down. He ran as fast as he could; unaware of where he was headed, but letting his feet carry him none-the-less.

Suddenly doors loomed in front of Harry and he braced himself as he shoved them open, all the while running. Harry instantly skidded to a halt. He panted, his face flushed, as he tried to catch his breath. Immediately Draco was at his side, and Harry realized that he had run into the Great Hall. He abruptly stepped away, back towards the Great Hall's doors; eyes darting back and forth over the student body. He could feel the eyes of the entire school burning into him as they sat, for once, in silent curiosity.

Draco watched astonished as Harry surged into the room and leaned over panting. He immediately stood up and was at Harry's side, an arm slung over his back. Harry glanced up momentarily as seemed to suddenly register where he was. He stood warily and began to slowly back out of the room. "SLAM!" the doors to the Great Hall burst open and Sirius Black tumbled in, "Damn it, Shade! How did you get so bloody fast?" Instantly Harry lost all pretences of bravery and lunged behind him. Faster than Draco realized his brain could even process anything, the pieces fell into place. "Black!" he roared, "Potter!" James Potter was immediately Sirius Black's side. "I trusted you; I thought you were my friends. But apparently I was wrong." Black and Potter exchanged looks, "What are you talking about, Mate?" Draco almost exploded right there; as it was, he had to take various calming breath in order to speak again. "So you always beat up the family of your friends? Does Black go out and punch out your little sister, Potter?" James swelled with indignation, "He wouldn't dare. Not that he would anyway, he would never hurt my family." Draco glared the two, "Then why did you beat my brother with an inch of his life?" Black scowled, "What did that Weasel tell you; all we did was give him a little warning." Draco felt the blood rush to head as he fought to keep control of his temper; he lost the battle, "HE DIDN'T NEED TO TELL ME!" Draco roared, "I HAD FINALLY GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE I COULD TOUCH HIM, WITHOUT HIM FLINCHING; AND NOW HE HAS ACTUALLY TAKEN TO HIDING! HE HAS NEVER BEEN THIS BAD, NOT SINCE I FIRST FOUND OUT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU BOTH!" Draco brandished his wand and for the first time Potter and Black seemed visibly nervous.

Harry watched as Draco exploded on the two unfortunate boys; but when Draco pulled out his wand, he knew he had to intervene. "Draco, no" he spoke softly and Draco whirled around to face him. "No, what? No, don't avenge you? No, don't make them pay? No, let them continue to be absolute bullies?" Harry stared at Draco, "No, don't get sent to Azkaban…..I need you." Draco visibly wilted, "What did they do to you?" he asked softly. The entire school sat in a thick kind of silence, all waiting; but the boys were oblivious to it. They—they…" Harry struggled to find the words, "They hurt me." And then Harry broke down, tears began to run down his face as he began to sob. Draco pulled him close as Harry cried out his broken heart. "It was just like Uncle Vernon all over again, and—and yet it was so much worse, because—because it was them!"

James and Sirius exchanged glances, finally understanding. They slowly backed off. Then, slowly, they bent down and rolled their wands toward the two brothers. Aries and Aidan both glanced up as the wands rolled into their feet. Potter was the one who spoke then; he did it in a soft quiet voice, as if he was speaking to a wounded animal. "Aidan, I am so sorry—we are so sorry." Then the two slowly walked around Aidan and Aries. They stepped towards the Head table, but paused when they heard Aidan's voice call out to them, "I don't blame you, you know. Sometimes I can't help but think I deserve these things. I don't have any family you know, Aries isn't really my brother. But sometimes—sometimes it's nice to pretend. It's nice to pretend that everything is going to be alright, and that someone actually loves me." James turned around in shock and absolute bafflement, "Aidan, I don't know what happened to you. I don't know your family, but I do know this; Aries is your brother. He's the one who's there to pick you up when you fall down. He's the one who holds you when you cry, and dries your tears when you finally fall asleep. I don't even need to know you guys that well to see the absolute unlimited amount of love that Aries has for you. He is your brother, not in blood; but in heart and in love." With that James presented himself to Professor Dumbledore. "Professor, do with me what you will, expel me if you want; but I know I deserve it." Sirius Black watched in utter disbelief, along with the rest of the student body, as James Potter, his own brother in all but blood, admitted to his crime and submitted to punishment.

Draco saw that the school was occupied with James and pulled Harry close to him. "James is right you know; I do love you, more than my own father even. You are my brother, and I would do anything for you." Harry looked Draco straight in the eyes; his deep green eyes bore into Draco, like a knife, searching for something. Draco didn't know if Harry had found what he was looking for, but it seemed like he did. Then, hesitantly, he smiled and spoke softly, almost a whisper, "I know…and I love you to."

With that, time seemed to stand still. Harry and Draco found themselves suddenly in a completely white room. Once again a voice came out of nowhere, "Harry Potter. You were given the chance to understand love; and you now do. Never forget these lessons you have learned. Draco Malfoy….be a good brother."

With that the room disappeared and suddenly Harry and Draco found themselves outside. It took a few minutes for the two to realize that they were out by the Black Lake, on the grounds of Hogwarts themselves.

**AN. All right, well once again sorry for taking so long. Just want to remind you guys know that this will be the 2****nd**** last chapter, I believe. I'll do one more chapter after this one and then "Learning to Trust" will be finished. Wow I can't believe it. Please review and let me know what your favorite parts were. And don't worry I won't think your strange no matter what part you choose, I'm just generally curious as to what you guys think. Hope you all had a great thnksgiving last weekend (That's for us Canadians :-)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Draco stood up, brushing the grass off of his jeans. He reached down, and offering a hand to Harry, helped him up. Draco made to step forward, but stopped when he noticed that Harry was just staring at the castle. "Harry? Hey, are you ok?" Draco asked softly. Harry stared at the castle for a moment longer then turned to Draco, "Will it be the same? Will we be the same?" Draco knew what Harry meant. He was scared to lose Draco, scared to have to pretend to be enemies again. Draco, too, didn't want this; so squaring his shoulders, and putting an arm around Harry, he said, "No more hiding, Harry. If they can't accept us, then that's their problem." Draco immediately saw the effect that his words had on Harry. Harry smiled brightly and then with a laugh pointed to his hair. Draco smiled and rubbed his own head. Glancing at himself and then back to Harry a rather mischievous smirk formed.

Remus Lupin sat in the Great Hall eating dinner. Well, eating was a rather arbitrary word; he was actually more playing with it than anything else. Harry hadn't been seen for weeks, months really. His gaze wandered about the hall, as he remembered how broken Harry had been when he had been rescued, and then he had just disappeared. Remus glanced at Ron and Hermione. The two had been very quiet since they had been informed of their friend's situation. Hermione had even stopped answering questions in class. And without Draco Malfoy around to rile them, there was very little fighting. The Malfoy scion had transferred to Durmstang this year and the Slytherins were without a perceptible leader. Even the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins had been keeping low key, both houses out of sorts because of the loss of prominent figures in their houses. A draught of wind swirled around the room and Remus regretted not wearing a warmer robe, not that he had that many in the first place. The cold November air could chill a soul right down to their bones. He was surprised that it hadn't started to snow yet, but figured that it would happen sooner than later.

Suddenly the door was flung open and two men strode in. They casually strolled slowly down the aisle between the tables, the students suddenly quiet. It seemed that everyone had the sense to keep silent; an almost imperceptible aura of danger surrounded the two. The tallest had bleached blonde hair with ice blue streaks running through it. He wore a pure white leather jacket and black skinny jeans. His long bangs obscured his eyes as he subtly took in the hall. The other was shorter, quite significantly; he probably was about 5'9—5'10. He had black hair that, in parallel the other man, had red streaks through it. His hair was longer as well, easily reaching to the bottom of his chin, bangs concealing any facial features. He wore a dark washed pair of blue boot cut jeans and a red V-neck t-shirt with white dragon on the bottom left. What alerted Remus the most was the scars that littered the body of the shorter man. From the two Remus got two impressions, the first was of danger. Remus could feel that the wolf inside him was even intimidated. The second was of familiarity. It took him a second to register and then, "Aidan? Aries?" The entire hall immediately turned to look at Remus. He stood up and quickly headed towards the pair as they themselves approached. "Remus" Aries acknowledged. "What? How?" Remus stuttered. Aries smiled grimly, "Time travel." The hall exploded into whispers. Remus raised an eyebrow, but he could see that they were telling the truth; either that or they had found the fountain of youth. "Aidan?" Remus began tentatively. Aidan said nothing, choosing instead to stare at Remus. Remus flinched at the anger in the eyes of the boy. His green eyes bore into Remus and, feeling it necessary, he began to rattle off an explanation, "Oh Aidan. I am so sorry for what Sirius and James did. They didn't mean it you know, they didn't understand what they were doing?" Aidan flinched as if he had been slapped. "Didn't know what they were doing?" he asked quietly, yet the entire hall could hear him.

Suddenly Dumbledore was at his side. He laid a hand on Remus's arm and took over talking. "Aidan, Aries; it's wonderful to have you hear at Hogwarts again! Will you be staying long?" The two ignored the old man, choosing instead to study the hall. Aries nudged Aidan and whispered into his ear; the two burst into laughter.

Draco nudged Harry and pointed subtly to the spots that they usually occupied. "Let's have some fun with the old man, shall we." The two erupted into laughter and then turned back to the headmaster. "Lost the boy-who-lived have we?" Dumbledore's eyes immediately lost their twinkle. "If you know anything about Harry Potter, Mr. Shade, then I suggest you reveal your information." Faster than you could say 'Gryffindors rule, Slytherins drool' two things happened. Hermione and Ron were immediately at Dumbledore's side, and a mental link probed into the Harry's mind. Glad of the extra practice with Draco, Harry immediately shoved Dumbledore out and then growled in anger, "STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" he roared. The force with which he shoved Dumbledore out actually caused the old man to stumble back. Draco was immediately at Harry's side but did nothing to stop the anger that poured out of him. "You have no business in my head! It's no wonder that Harry left this place if this is how you treated him!" Ron immediately stepped forward his ears burning in anger. "You don't know a thing about Harry! Harry is our friend and we want him back!" Harry laughed bitterly, "Well guess what? Harry Potter isn't coming back." Immediately chaos broke out and wands everywhere were drawn and pointed at the two.

Remus watched as the entire school erupted. He himself had to struggle to keep calm, only the constantly emanating danger keeping him from approaching the pair himself. It was perhaps the fact that he was removed from the chaos that he managed to catch Aidan's quietly spoken next words, "Draco, you will always be my brother; thank you. And don't worry, I'll be fine." _I'll be fine…_ how many times had Remus heard Harry utter those words and suddenly he inhaled deeply, the boy's scent was so familiar; and then it all clicked. Remus immediately threw himself into the crowd and pushed his way to the front.

"Harry?" Only Draco and Harry heard Remus and they turned to face him. "SHUT UP!" Remus suddenly screamed; abruptly all noise ceased. The entire hall was in shock over the outburst from the usually quiet-spoken man. "Harry?" he asked again as he slowly stepped forward. Harry growled at him and Remus froze. "Now do you understand, Remus Lupin? Do you understand how much they hurt me?" Remus watched in horror as Harry fought back anger induced tears, "Do you finally understand why my fear was so great? It was almost as if I was back with my Uncle! They were my family, my Dad and my Godfather; and they hurt me! In some ways I wished that I was back at with my Uncle, it hurt way less to be RAPED by him then to be attacked by my own father!" Remus himself was near tears as he sunk to the floor in utter denial. Harry continued to spew out his anger and frustration, "I WOULD HAVE RATHER DIED! For the first time in my life I was ready to give up, ready to leave everything behind and sink into the dark abyss!" Harry went silent as he struggled to hold back tears, and as he spoke again his voice cracked, "I loved them, and they scorned me; a tried to help them and they beat me. Why should I bother to live if no one cares…?" Remus's tears splashed onto the stone floor as he bent his head in utter misery. The entire hall was silent as they watched the tragic scene in front of them.

Remus suddenly felt a hand on his chin, forcing him to raise his head. Harry looked right into Remus's eyes and spoke words he never thought he would hear, "And that's why I forgive you." Remus stared in shock at the boy, 'Harry, I—I…." Harry but a hand on his arm and smiled softly, "I learned a very important lesson during my time in the past, and its one lesson I'm not going to forget anytime soon. I have a brother, and I have friends; but what I need now is a mentor, a guide. I need you Remus, Moony."

**Epilogue**

"Well Harry, what are you going to do today?" Remus asked Harry as he passed the toast over. Harry shrugged, "We'll probably just hangout for the day, spend some time learning some of those spells from that new book you got me." Remus studied Harry carefully and then smiled, "Alright then, Cub. But don't break Draco this time, please." A wry grin broke out on Harry's face as he remembered last week. Draco had been sent flying into a tree after Harry accidently mixed up his spells.

"Alright, Tal; just sit still and try not to move." Draco sat uncertainly on the ground, apple on his head. His eyes were clenched tightly shut as he struggled to not make a single movement. And then, "SPLAT!" Draco felt the blob of paint slam straight into his face. With a sigh he wiped a hand across his face and glanced at Harry. Instead of the apologetic face he expected, he saw that Harry was doubled over in laughter. Eyes narrowing, Draco jumped to his feet and charged at Harry. "Shadow, you are going to live to regret that." Harry looked up just in time to see Draco and quickly morphed; in the place of Harry now stood a large black and grey wolf. Draco grinned in a reckless sort of way, "So you want to play that way then, huh?" Shadow quickly turned around and took off into the woods. Draco himself then transformed, and Tal spread his large wings as the Peregrine Falcon chased after its brother.

Remus watched the pair from the house. He couldn't help but be proud of his boys. Draco was on his way to a Potions Mastery. The young man was a dab-hand at potions; and he had learned from the best, one Severus Snape. Harry himself was about to enter the ranks of healing. Soon after his return to the present, Voldemort had blown himself up when he accidently mixed the wrong potions ingredients together. He was making his own potions because the one time spy for the Order of the Phoenix had refused to continue his position. Harry had been free from his 'obligation' and in fact, soon after it came to light that the entire prophesy was a hoax.

Remus was proud of his boys. They were brothers through in through. Harry had learned to understand love from his time in the past. And after he had learned to love he had finally learned to trust. Remus knew that there would be hard times to come, but he also knew that there was much joy to come. He had had a hard life, they all had; but right now, standing in the afternoon sun watching his family, Remus couldn't imagine a better way to live on.

**AN. Wow I just realized how incedibly stupid I am. I thought I had posted this months ago! I am so sorry.  
><strong>**Yes this is the end of the story. Someday I might come back and do some more work on it, but for now it is finished.  
>I hope you all enjoyed this story. Please send me a message and tell me if you liked it, you can even send me a message to yell at me for forgetting to post this. Also, any constructive critism is welcome and, well, I actually would enjoy any review, even iif its just a smiley face. :-)<br>~JanessaMoon**


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